Blues fall behind early again, drop 2-1 decision to Blackhawks

Lack of scoring punch hurts again despite

35 shots; team is seven points out of playoff position

By LOUIE KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- For the second consecutive game, the Blues spotted the top two teams in the Western Conference a two-goal lead. Yet, they were in it until the very end.

But the difference between being at the top of the Western Conference and being seven points out of a playoff spot -- which the Blues are as they wake up today -- is what's plagued this team for much of the season: they can't put enough pucks in the net.

It cost the Blues once again on Saturday despite getting a late goal from Alex Steen in a 2-1 loss against the Chicago Blackhawks Saturday night at Scottrade Center in a rematch of Wednesday's game in Chicago.

Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews scored for the Blackhawks (38-15-5) in the first period, and they rode the glove and pads of Antti Niemi, who was supposed to face the Blues in Chicago but missed the game because of a stomach virus. Niemi made 34 saves.

But yet again, the Blues (25-24-9) could not get enough pucks past a backup goaltender (they faced San Jose's Thomas Greiss Thursday). Chris Mason stopped 28 shots in the loss.

"I thought we had very good energy, I thought there was physical play there early on in the period," Blues coach Davis Payne said.

The Blues had plenty of jump in a game that featured 48 penalty minutes and a pair of fights from a couple unlikely pairings.

Yet it was Chicago gaining the upper hand when Sharp converted a Toews opportunity five minutes, 33 seconds into the game and it's 1-0.

"The puck ends up in our zone. ... I don't know if Mase got spun out of there with (Marian) Hossa coming through the slot," Payne said. "We lost our return and they were able to make that play to an open net.

"I felt like we can deal with that type of situation. You can't pour everything into the start and expect it to go well. You have to be prepared for things that don't. I thought we were prepared for that."

The lead balloons to 2-0 after a mis-communicated play between defenseman Roman Polak and forward T.J. Oshie.

Both Blues players were trying to converge on a loose puck, but instead, Oshie winds up tripping over Polak's skates and it created a 2-on-1 for Toews and Patrick Kane, who got the puck to Toews for a quick one-time strike 15:51 into the period.

"We get into a battle along the wall, and I thought through communication, we could have cleaned it up," Payne said. "It looked like Roman tried to get back and recover a loose puck, yet Oshie was in position. I think he bumped him off-track and we looked like we were turning up ice because we had clean possession. All of the sudden you give the wrong guys a 2-on-1, and it is 2-0."

Polak said he never saw his teammate coming.

"I was just playing the puck along the wall and I was battling with Sharp, I think, and all of the sudden, the puck just bounced there and I didn't know it was coming there," Polak said. "Osh just tripped on my foot and I lost the puck and they went on a 2-on-1. I just turned and was trying to get the puck and he was already on the ice."

Despite outshooting Chicago 11-8 in the opening frame, the Blues were down two goals.

"We talked about (turnovers)," said Mason, who beat Chicago four days ago. "You play the team with the offensive firepower of Chicago and San Jose, you can't give them free chances. They're going to get enough on their own. I think early in the first period, we gave them a few chances that they didn't need to get."

The Blues, who outshot Chicago 35-30 in the game, threw 14 more pucks at Niemi in the second and even had the first of two 5-on-3 power plays. They had one for 41 seconds in that period and thought they had narrowed the Hawks' lead to 2-1 on an apparent Boyes goal, but on a scramble in front of Niemi, referee Dan O'Halloran whistled the puck dead -- replays clearly showed it wasn't -- and waved off the goal with 3:33 left in the period.

"The puck obviously was loose, we were banging away," Boyes said. "What (O'Halloran) saw was what it kind of what it was. It was sitting there and it kind of popped out and I was able to put it in. He blew it dead obviously before. He thought it was under the goalie and that's it.

"It's a big goal. It kind of gets us going. I felt like it was in, but it didn't (count). We still had other chances, we still had other opportunities, but we didn't get enough."

What disappointed Payne more in that sequence was the execution early in that power play.

"We have some situations that we want to go to," Payne said. "We went to it in the second 5-on-3 and had success on it. We've got to make sure we stick to the plan.

"(O'Halloran) lost sight of the puck and he blew the whistle. To me it looked like ... from the body language on all the players out there that it was a pretty hotly-contested puck. Those are decisions they have to make. Unfortunately, they can work for you or against you. There's no gray area there. ... That was a loose puck there. You could see the guys battling for it. The ref's got to make his call."

The Blues needed a big push in the third period and for spurts, they got it.

They got another chance at a 5-on-3, and Alex Steen ripped a one-timer from the high slot past Niemi with 1:46 to play but could not muster any more chances to get the equalizer.

"I thought there were some individual moments, but we've got to make sure we understand that we're going to face four guys in the neutral zone, we're going to face heavy numbers," Payne said. "I thought at times we didn't direct ourselves as quickly through that neutral zone to establish some forechecks and let the pressure work in that area. Beyond that, it was a pretty tight game from start to finish both ways. We knew we were going to have to battle. We knew we were going to have to win some individual battles to get those chances.

"Down 2-0, we had enough chances through two periods to get ourselves even in that hockey game. We've got to find a way to make that happen."

* NOTES -- Blues defenseman Erik Johnson has gone 31 games without a goal and has just seven assists in that span after 18 points in 25 games. ... The Blackhawks are 9-1-2 in the second of back-to-back games, including 7-0-2 on the road. ... Blues center Keith Tkachuk (68 games) and left winger Paul Kariya (65 games) each have 67 career points against the Blackhawks. ... Blues right winger David Perron played in his 200th career game Thursday, becoming the youngest Blue (21) in franchise history to do so. ... Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo was in attendance, sitting in a suite with Blues minority owner Tom Stillman.

(2-6-10) Blackhawks-Blues Gameday Lineup

By LOUIE KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- Before Davis Payne took over behind the Blues bench, it was as good as anyone's guess on a game-by-game, practice-by-practice basis what line combinations would look. The process makes it difficult to develop any type of chemistry.

And Payne was thinking along those lines as well, simply because he was in the process of getting to understand what his personnel was and what he had.

But in recent weeks, the Blues' 39-year-old coach has taken the approach of putting guys together and sticking with it. And the Blues are getting solid production from a particular unit each and every game.

Payne understands it's a necessity to get guys on the same page.

"I think so (but) it takes some time," Payne said Saturday morning before the Blues played host to the Chicago Blackhawks. "There's two different ways of looking at it. One, we don't have the picture put together correctly or two, it is put together correctly and you've got to put the onus on a group of three or you've got to put the onus on a D-pairing to make sure that they understand that their performance is a collective one. The more you can do that, I think the more you get a collective buy-in as to that understanding of that level of play.

"You give guys a chance to correct things, you give guys a chance to get together and watch video and make sure they're addressing certain things whether it's forward lines or D-pairings. We've also got lots of options coming out of the gate and if things aren't going well early, we're apt to change and manage energy and look at who the puck's following around that night."

What the Blues have seen in recent games is Paul Kariya, David Backes and T.J. Oshie on the ice together, Andy McDonald, Keith Tkachuk and Brad Boyes and then seeing Alex Steen, Patrik Berglund and David Perron together. Even Jay McClement is seeing more of Brad Winchester and B.J. Crombeen -- although hurt right now -- mixed in with Cam Janssen or D.J. King.

And the D-pairings have stayed consistent with Barret Jackman and Roman Polak playing together, Eric Brewer and Erik Johnson seeing time together and either Carlo Colaiacovo and Darryl Sydor with Mike Weaver.

"Each game's been different," Payne said. "Obviously, we liked what the Berglund group brought us the last game, we liked what the Backes group brought us up in Chicago (Wednesday). We feel that Walt and Andy and Boysie are on the verge. Chances are there for them, but we just have to stay faithful in that process that something's going to click. I thought even McClement, Winchester and Kinger had some great shifts in the offensive zone, were physical and were very effective (Thursday). It didn't get us results, but there was some play there that we liked and would like to repeat."

The players could never get a grasp from day-to-day who they would be partnered with or matched up with on a forward line. This way, the transition is smoother and they're cognizant of one another.

"It helps you on the ice in the games," McDonald said. "I think you learn players' tendencies. It becomes less about guessing where they're going and just reacting and knowing where they're going to be. The more you play with a player, you learn those tendencies and it makes things easier on the ice.

"In saying that, when things don't go well and you don't win hockey games, especially when you have trouble scoring goals, the idea is mixing the lines up to generate some kind of offense. It's a fine line, but you certainly have to find a balance between letting guys develop that chemistry but also be productive and finding combinations that work."

* * *

The Blues (23-25-9), who beat the Blackhawks 3-2 Wednesday in Chicago, will make one lineup change from Thursday but the lineup they used in downing Chicago. Janssen will be back in for King, who will be a healthy scratch.

Crombeen (lower-body) was on the ice and participated in practice on a limited basis but will miss his third straight game.

Paul Kariya-David Backes-T.J. Oshie

Andy McDonald-Keith Tkachuk-Brad Boyes

Alex Steen-Patrik Berglund-David Perron

Brad Winchester-Jay McClement-Cam Janssen

* On a side note, congratulations to Perron, who played in his 200th career game Thursday and became the youngest Blues player in franchise history to reach 200 games. He is 48 days younger than Bob Hess, who accomplished the feat in 1977.

The D-pairings will stay the same, despite a report that Colaiacovo would be a healthy scratch tonight. That is not the case. Sydor will be scratched for the third straight game.

Barret Jackman-Roman Polak

Eric Brewer-Erik Johnson

Carlo Colaiacovo-Mike Weaver

Chris Mason, who stopped 32 of 34 shots in beating the Blackhawks, will take a 17-15-8 record with a 2.50 goals-against average and .912 save percentage into his fourth start in five games.

- - -

The Blackhawks (37-15-5) are in a bit of a funk after losing their third straight Friday night in a 2-1 shootout loss at home to Phoenix.

The Hawks, who have beaten the Blues two of three times this season, are 0-2-1 in their previous three games, a season-worst.

The Hawks had an optional skate Saturday morning, with only goalies Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi taking the ice.

Chicago has some tweaking from last night's fourth forward line against the Coyotes, with Tomas Kopecky replacing Ben Eager in the lineup.

Troy Brouwer-Jonathan Toews-Patrick Kane

Andrew Ladd-Dave Bolland-Marian Hossa

Dustin Byfuglien-Patrick Sharp-Kris Versteeg

Tomas Kopecky-John Madden-Colin Fraser

The D-pairings will also stay the same, which means Jordan Hendry will be a healthy scratch.

Duncan Keith-Brent Seabrook

Niklas Hjalmarsson-Brian Campbell

Brent Sopel-Cam Barker

Niemi was taking pucks on goal from his counterpart and is expected to start tonight after missing the start Wednesday against the Blues because he was sick.

Time is not for Blues to put up or shut up at Scottrade Center

9-15-5 record on home ice worst in NHL,

big reason team is on outside looking in

By LOUIE KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- Shoulda woulda coulda are three basic words that come to mind when the Blues think about what they've done at Scottrade Center this season.

While the Blues are in a fierce fight for one of the eight playoff berths the Western Conference has to offer, there are many areas that can be pointed at why the Blues (25-23-9) are on the outside looking in right now.

But the main culprit, one that stands out all by itself, is the inability to make their home ice a hard place to play.

As the Blues get a rematch with the Chicago Blackhawks (37-15-5) today at 7 p.m. at Scottrade Center, the Blues sit dead-last in home ice record.

Their 9-15-5 record -- including a home win in Sweden to start the season -- is the worst in the league. That's 23 points out of a possible 58 points up for grabs on home ice. And with the Blues being seven points out of a playoff position heading into tonight's game, just adding on three more wins and being a .500 club at home puts them right in the thick of it.

"I don't really know ... we've tried to think of everything," Blues goalie Chris Mason said. "It's just not coming. That's the difference between where we're sitting and where we should be."

The Blues finish up their pre-Olympic stretch with four of their five remaining games on home ice. And with 25 games remaining, 13 of those are on home ice.

"You're going to have to win two out of three consistently to get back in the playoff race," forward David Backes said. "We're committed to that effort and the process to get there. The rest will take care of itself."

After a crucial 3-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago Wednesday, the Blues followed it up with a 4-2 home loss to the Western Conference's top team in San Jose Thursday.

And even though they failed to pick up two points in that game, the best recipe for moving on to the next game: park it.

"Unfortunately we didn't get the two points (Thursday), but it's over and done with," Backes said. "We've got to learn, improve our game (and) improve our process of how we're going to play. We're back against a good Chicago team on Saturday, we're in our barn and we need to establish the way we're going to play at home, outwork teams and execute the game plan that's put in front of us."

The Blues, who sit in 13th place in the Western Conference, are cognizant of where they are and where they need to get to in order to duplicate last season's feat of making the conference's elite eight.

"We kind of know where the bar is," coach Davis Payne said. "We have to climb a little harder, a little faster or jump a little higher in order to get there.

"Saturday is going to be a tough battle. There's no easy ones."

Davidson confirms Blues had interest in Kovalchuk

Team president said there were conversations with

Thashers before superstar was dealt to Devils

By LOUIE KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- The Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes is finally over, and the New Jersey Devils were the winners -- for the time being -- in landing the talented Russian forward. But Blues President John Davidson acknowledged Thursday night that the Blues had "legitimate interest" in trading for Kovalchuk themselves.

Kovalchuk was dealt to the Devils in a six-player deal that also send defenseman Anssi Salmela to the Devils for rookie forward Niclas Bergfors, defenseman Johnny Oduya, Canadian prospect Pascal Cormier and a first-round pick this year.

It was reported that the Blues and Ottawa Senators were two "silent" teams that were in on the sweeps, and Davidson confirmed it from the Blues' perspective.

"We had been working at it for the better part of the week," Davidson said during the Blues' 4-2 loss to San Jose. "We had great conversations with Atlanta. We talked to them about various thoughts and ideas and put (a proposal) together. It never came to fruition."

It never came to fruition because Atlanta general manager Don Waddell publicly stated that any team interested in Kovalchuk would not be given permission to speak with him or agent Jay Grossman about a contract extension, since Kovalchuk, 26, can become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Waddell said in a press release Thursday that Kovalchuk turned down the Thrashers' latest offer, a 12-year, $101 million deal. He was the No. 1 overall pick by Atlanta in 2001.

Davidson said the Thrashers' asking price was "a piece or two that we weren't winning to give up, especially knowing that Kovalchuk is, for now, a rental player."

Davidson said the Blues were more than willing partners to make a deal if they were given the chance to sign an extension immediately. When that was never an option, the risk was too high to take.

"It would have been a heck of a lot easier to give up a lot of you know he was going to stay here," Davidson said. "But you can't give up a ton and then have Ilya not be here come July 1. You're just starting from behind again as a franchise."

Davidson added, "When you make a deal like that, if it's really a magnitude coming out of your bank account, you've got to try to make sure that he signs. And that (permission to discuss a contract extension before a trade) was never given to any team that was in the battle trying to get him. So we just couldn't afford to go the extra mile."

Davidson would not admit nor deny that the latest report on what Kovalchuk turned down was something that scared the Blues away.

"I'm not going to go there because we never got into numbers," he said. "I can't go there."

There's the chance the Blues could revisit this subject this summer, should the Devils not come to terms with Kovalchuk by July 1. Davidson said he cannot comment on it since the player is property of another team.

"I can't say anything because (New Jersey) owns him now," Davidson said.

Blues fall behind early, lose to Sharks 4-2

Team can't sustain momentum from victory Wednesday in Chicago

By LOUIE KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- After a solid road victory in Chicago Wednesday, the Blues had little time to dwell on two important points. After all in the NHL, you're only as good as your next game.

Lined up against arguably the best forward line in the NHL, the Blues were faced with the daunting task of setting the tone early against San Jose's Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley, who came into Thursday's game with 192 points in 56 games among them.

But just 21 seconds into the game, the Sharks' trio had already set the tone, and San Jose's top billing in the Western Conference was rightfully justified as they never relinquished a lead and doubled up the Blues 4-2 before 19,150 at Scottrade Center.

The Blues (25-23-9), who were looking to go a season-high four games over .500, could not build off Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Blackhawks as they were looking to knock off the top two Western Conference teams in a span of 24 hours. Their home woes, despite being better in recent games, is not helping matters, as the Blues are now 9-15-5 on home ice, including 8-15-5 at Scottrade.

Instead, they head into their next game Saturday staring the Blackhawks in the face once again, a team that will be looking for retribution after falling on home ice for only the sixth time this season and try and keep the Blues from climbing that crowded conference ladder.

"Certainly not the start we wanted," Blues coach Davis Payne said. "We talked a lot this morning and a lot today about turnovers and the pucks that we had to make sure got in behind people. That first goal was a contested puck, no question, but a puck that we needed to get into the offensive zone in order to get our change. They made that one count."

The Blues, who also failed to get a puck in deep on the second goal that Ryane Clowe would bury and make it 2-0 7 minutes, 53 seconds into the game, were fighting from behind the entire night but could never get it back to even despite getting a Patrik Berglund power play goal 9:46 into the first.

"The (second) one was a neutral zone situation where a puck didn't get all the way deep," Payne said. "We get a good finish there by D.J. (King) but lost track of the puck and all of the sudden, get numbers coming back against us. It's not a great recipe against a hockey club like that.

"We got the game to 2-1 off the power play and I thought from that point forward ... I'm not sure how the chances are going to boil out, but I thought especially in the first eight minutes to start that second period there could have been a different fate in store if we could have found one to go in."

The Blues have been plagued by turnovers and when they compound matters by not getting pucks in deep, their opponents seem to get some free speed going through the neutral zone and making it easy to get into an easy-flowing transition game.

"We've preached about getting the puck deep," defenseman Barret Jackman said. "A few times in the first five minutes, we didn't do that and didn't get some momentum on our side. Just some little things like that cost us. I think the third period, I think we had the pressure on them. We just couldn't get any bounces.

"We gave them the first one. They're very dangerous and they pride themselves on turnovers and stealing pucks. When you give them opportunities in the slot, they're going to bury them. All three of them have great shots."

Ty Conklin was in goal for the Blues and fell to 0-6 in this building (he's 1-6-0 overall on home ice, which included a "home" win in Sweden) and stopped 27 shots but really felt like it was not one of his better nights.

"I think the difference was in goal, obviously," Conklin said. "(The Sharks' Thomas Greiss) played well and there's a couple I'd like to have back.

"I thought we played a really good game. I think there's a goal or two I'd like to have back. For the most part, especially given the fact we played back-to-back games, we were as good or better, I thought, tonight."

With the Blues down 2-1, a power play goal by San Jose's Devin Setoguchi was what swung the game back in the Sharks' favor.

Setoguchi curled himself around Jackman in the right corner, burst in front and slid a soft backhand past Conklin, a goal the veteran netminder said was the difference.

"From my perspective, somewhere you've got to find an extra save," Conklin said. "... I thought the winning goal was the one I'd really like to have back. At the time of the game, that's a save that ... it's a 2-1 game, a game we're fully in, and that's one I wanted to stop.

"He just beat me to the middle of the net. That's how he scored. He just beat me to the middle of the net. He didn't surprise me coming out of the corner."

Jackman gave credit to Setoguchi.

"I'm just trying to angle him off the puck and he made a decision to go back," Jackman said. "Normally guys will go behind the net and try and make a play on the opposite side, but he cut in front and slid one by Conks."

The Blues would put 37 shots on Greiss, who allowed some very generous rebound attempts that the Blues were somehow not getting to.

"I thought the first half of the game, at least through the first two periods, we took some routes that didn't keep us in that area where there were some pucks," Payne said. "If you noticed in the third period, we made more of an attempt to make sure we stopped right at the top of that area and get people all the way there. (Greiss) was still able to find either a body for the puck to hit or a way to make the save."

Alex Steen's shot from the right circle glanced in off Sharks defenseman Jay Leach's right skate that made it 3-2 8:39 into the game and the Blues found life -- or so they thought.

"We had a good mindset coming out for the third, got it to 3-2," Payne said. "We just wanted to continue with the pressure, continue with our game. I felt we were in striking distance, but that fourth one kept us away."

That fourth one came off the stick of Scott Nichol, whose blast from the top of the right circle beat Conklin stick side with 4:48 remaining.

"They took it to us for that first 30 seconds, ends up in a goal and we start the game with our tails between our legs," forward David Backes said. "Obviously, a very good opponent but even tougher when we put ourselves behind the Eight-ball like that to begin with."

* NOTES -- King returned to the lineup tonight, his first action since Nov. 24 when he broke his right hand in a fight with Dallas' Krys Barch. He replaced Cam Janssen (healthy scratch) in the lineup. ... B.J. Crombeen (lower-body) sat out his second straight game. ... Defenseman Darryl Sydor was also a healthy scratch.

(2-4-10) Sharks-Blues Gameday Lineup

By LOUIE KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- For those that were wondering who that was wearing the No. 9 Blues sweater Wednesday night in Chicago, it was the same guy that everyone came to expect to see when he signed a free agent contract three years ago.

Yes, it was Paul Kariya, the same Paul Kariya who Blues fans were thrilled to see sign on the dotted line.

But Kariya's tenure has been marred by inconsistent play and injuries that set the 35-year-old back some a season ago with a pair of hip surgeries.

But that looked like the old Kariya flying around the United Center ice, and he was a key contributor to the 3-2 victory over the Hawks, who rarely lose on home ice (21-6-1).

"Good reads, good speed on the forecheck," Blues coach Davis Payne said Thursday morning regarding Kariya's play. "We spent some time last week on where we're trying to get our forecheck and the positions we're trying to put ourselves in. I thought he did a much better job of reading what's available to him, what's there to take away. When he had opportunities, he used his speed advantage. I thought he did a great job with that. It's about putting yourself in the right place at the right time and that takes a little bit of thought process and I thought he was on in that regard last night."

It's no secret that when Kariya is flying, the offense has jump, and he adds a certain element noticeably missing at times.

Kariya set up the first of David Backes' two goals by reading a poor decision by Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith.

That's the Kariya everyone has come to expect to see. It'll be interesting to see how he follows up that game tonight when the Blues (25-22-9) play host to San Jose (36-11-9).

* * *

As many of you are probably aware, forward David Perron has a Twitter account, and you can follow him here: @DP_57.

But after some deliberation with his agent, Allan Walsh, Perron is donating $1 to the Haiti relief effort for each follower he picks up on his Twitter account. This generous act by the Blues' winger will go through the end of February, and the phenomenon is growing by the second.

"It's been good so far," Perron said Thursday, noting that he's collected 2,500-3,000 since announcing his plans. "It's a way to help the world and we do whatever we can. ... I really didn't know what to expect. The first day, I was like, 'Oh my God! It's a lot.' The first week would probably be the best one.

"It's a big topic in the world right now. A lot of people are trying to get together and trying to help them. I'm trying to do the same."

If you don't have a Twitter account, it's free to sign up and just join in as a follower of @DP_57.

* * *

The journey back has been challenging to say the least, but 'King Kong' will return to the Blues' lineup tonight.

Enforcer D.J. King will return to the lineup tonight, replacing Cam Janssen.

King, who has played in two games in the last two seasons -- including a four-second stint this season before breaking his hand in a fight with Dallas' Krys Barch Oct. 24 -- has been itching to get back into a lineup that has been taxing both physically and mentally.

"The physical part was pretty easy to see, but the mental part was probably the struggle," King admitted this morning. "But I feel pretty good and now I'm ready to go. ... A lot of work coming towards this point. Pretty anxious, that's for sure."

King went down to Peoria on a two-week conditioning stint and has been working out with the team on a regular basis. He deems himself 100 percent ready to go.

"You can do as much as you can in practice, but you can't condition like a game," King said. "Just to get in a game-like situation, it's very helpful for me."

* * *

Last night's win was the Blues' seventh one goal game in the previous eight. Nobody ever said this was going to be easy.

It appeared bleak when the hawks scored first on Patrick Kane's breakaway. Why? Because Chicago was a robust 30-4-3 when scoring the first goal this season; they're 30-5-3 now.

How good are the Blues when Jay McClement tallies a point? The team is 23-2-3 since Jan. 19, 2008 when McClement gets a point. Needless to say, his goal with 22 seconds left in the second period was big. It turned out to be the game-winner.

Backes' two-goal game Wednesday marked the seventh multi-goal in his career.

* * *

With the exception of King, the Blues' forwards will remain the same for tonight:

Paul Kariya-David Backes-T.J. Oshie

Andy McDonald-Keith Tkachuk-Brad Boyes

Alex Steen-Patrik Berglund-David Perron

Brad Winchester-Jay McClement-D.J. King

Janssen will be a healthy scratch along with B.J. Crombeen (lower-body).

The D-pairings will remain the same:

Barret Jackman-Roman Polak

Eric Brewer-Erik Johnson

Carlo Colaiacovo-Mike Weaver

Darryl Sydor will be a healthy scratch.

Ty Conklin gets the start in goal after Chris Mason stopped 32 of 34 shots in Chicago Wednesday.

Mason was given consideration, but will likely get the nod again Saturday when the Blackhawks visit. Conklin is 4-2-0 with a 1.70 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage against the Sharks in his career. He is 1-0-0 this season.

"His ability to step in at a moment's notice and give you a great performance, we saw it in Montreal, we saw it in Calgary," Payne said of Conklin. "His ability to make some plays with pucks, disrupts some forechecks, just his solid performance as a way of calming things down when the stuff hits the fan. That's what good goaltending does."

With six more games in the final 10 days leading into the Winter Olympics, the Blues have carefully planned for their goaltending situation.

"We've looked ahead to plan day-by-day," Payne said. "We see the schedule, we see the workload, we see the travel. We see the opponents, we know historically what guys have done. We also know that both guys are playing pretty well right now. We'll adjust each situation with new information."

- - -

The Blues get no rest for the weary, after playing the second-best team in the Western Conference Wednesday, the Blues get the top team in the Sharks tonight.

San Jose is beginning a six-game trip tonight, which takes them to Nashville Saturday.

The Sharks are without some key components in their lineup, most notably defenseman Dan Boyle (upper-body), who will miss his sixth consecutive game tonight.

"We'd like to be healthier, but it's no different than the other 29 clubs in the league," Sharks coach Todd McClellan said. "Everybody has bumps and bruises. The playing field is pretty level so there's no excuses."

The Blues will have their hands full with San Jose's top line of center Joe Thornton and wingers Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley.

The trio has combined for 82 goals and 110 assists in 56 games and a plus-59 rating on the season.

The Sharks' forward lines will have:

Patrick Marleau-Joe Thornton-Dany Heatley

Manny Malhotra-Joe Pavelski-Devin Setoguchi

Ryane Clowe-Scott Nichol-Jed Ortmeyer

Jody Shelley-Torrey Mitchell-Brad Staubitz

The D-pairings, which are also without Marc-Edouard Vlasic (lower-body injury) for the third consecutive game, is mixed with experience and youth:

Douglas Murray-Rob Blake

Kent Huskins-Jason Demers

Jay Leach-Derek Joslin

Thomas Greiss will get a rare start in goal, giving Evgeni Nabokov a rare day off. The start for Greiss, who will play in the Olympics for his native country Germany, will be his ninth.

Blues begin toughest part of schedule tonight

Game at Blackhawks kicks off stretch of seven games in 11 days

By LOUIE KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- A rare break in the schedule where the Blues were not playing for three days was a chance for the team to take full advantage of some rest and relaxation.

And while not all three days were used, most all involved took the time to get away, allow the body to refuel and let the mind ease away from the grind that is the NHL.

"It seems like the last three days have been like a week or two off with our schedule," said defenseman Barret Jackman, who leads the team in ice time per game. "It's nice to kind of rest the body for a couple days and jump back at it."

And jump back into they did at practice on Tuesday, as the Blues get set to face the toughest part of the schedule that any team would have to endure upon when they play seven games in 13 days leading into the Olympic break.

"A couple days, you just shut off the mind, but we came in today and we had a good video session and were refreshed," Jackman said. "We tried to correct a few errors in our game and we're right back out there, intense in practice and skating well. I think the guys spent the three days off very well and we're ready for (tonight)."

The Blues will begin the gauntlet of games today when they face the Chicago Blackhawks at 7:30 p.m. (FSN, KMOX 1120-AM) at United Center.

San Jose comes calling at home on Thursday, then the Blackhawks make a return visit to Scottrade Center Saturday, followed by a game at Colorado Monday, Detroit at home Tuesday, Toronto here on Feb. 12 and Washington rounds it out with a visit here on Feb. 13.

"It's an opportunity for us to prove we belong in the group that you can anticipate are heading into the playoffs," Blues coach Davis Payne said. "Chicago and San Jose have obviously had successful years to this point. You can anticipate them being there as one of the top eight. That's who we have this week. If we want to be there, we've got to earn points against them."

But after playing 11 games in 18 days and 15 in the month of January, a break in the schedule came at an opportune time for a team that like all teams, needed some time off to get the body cranked up again for what will be a grind heading into the two-week Olympic lay-off as well as the remainder of the schedule as the Blues (22-24-9) are in crowded terrain competing for one of the eight playoff positions in the Western Conference.

"Physically and mentally, it's one thing to be going through that grind and your body is telling you one thing," Payne said. "You've got to get in that game mode and you get to the rink and you play. Here was a chance for us to take some time off the ice. Rest is as important as the work is. It gave us a chance to do that, it gave them a chance if they needed a day away from the rink -- they've obviously got families -- and get a chance to recharge that situation. We want to be sharp every time we come to the rink, and that was part of the plan."

It's no doubt that the seven games leading into the Olympics will say a lot as to whether the Blues will be in this playoff chase or not and be sellers as trades unfold. A bad stretch of games here could very well determine if the Blues will go down to the end swinging or if they'll bow out quietly and become sellers.

"I don't know if it's make or break, but we definitely have to play well if we want to make that push to the playoffs," Jackman said. "It's very important, but I don't know if it will be make or break until we get done with this set (of games) and see where everyone is in the standings."

The Blues are 4-4-2 against the current stretch of teams they will face and they seem to rise to the occasion as the teams they face are better.

"I think this year, we have played some of our best hockey against some of the better teams," Jackman said. "We do have to have that mental focus where we take every opponent the same and we play our game each and every night. Chicago, San Jose and Chicago again, those are going to be three really big games for us. We have to elevate our play if we want to keep up with those teams."

* Fun on the frozen water -- Even though Tuesday's practice was an all-out, full bore practice, Payne allowed the team to mix business with pleasure during a shootout drill.

While Payne was getting an idea of his shootout personnel, the former NHL'er himself took part himself to see if the 39-year-old still has what it takes.

It's obvious he does, as he was able to get one past goalie Chris Mason.

"I got the one move there where I get the goalie's legs locked in and scored on (Mason) and I got a little ahead of myself trying to go backwards," said Payne, sweat dripping from his brows and glasses fogged. "I always made a rule as a forward the last thing you want to do is to skate backwards. I almost paid for it."

The players were certainly ready to pounce on their leader in case he did take a fall.

"I'm sure when he falls against the wall, he's got 25 sets of eyes that are burning the back of his neck to make fun of him as soon as he turns around," Jackman joked. "I haven't seen him skate too much. ... He gets from Point A to B."

It's been exactly one month since Payne took over as head coach for Andy Murray, and he's seen his team involved in one shootout (against Anaheim Jan. 23).

"I hadn't seen them do one, so obviously I've been going through the process of evaluating who we're going to use and who we need," Payne said. "I just wanted to take a look at what guys had to offer."

* Steen/Crombeen injury updates -- Forwards Alex Steen and B.J. Crombeen took different routes Tuesday in the road to recovery.

Steen was in gear and practiced with lines and was used as an extra defenseman during drills but was going full force from the lower-body injury (believed to be a foot injury) that he suffered while blocking a shot Saturday against Columbus.

But all signs point to a return to the lineup tonight in Chicago

"A very good sign," Payne said after practice. "Obviously, we weren't sure what we were going to get coming into today, but that's a positive sign as we look towards tomorrow. ... We'll make that decision. We'll see how he responded today. Any time you start getting ahead of yourself, those things can bite you. We like what we saw and we'll assess here and determine if he's able to go tomorrow."

Crombeen on the other hand was not on the ice Tuesday, also with a lower-body injury from a check along the corner boards, also suffered Saturday against Columbus.

Crombeen will not play tonight in Chicago but hopes to play either Thursday against San Jose or Saturday against the Blackhawks.

"It's just a little bump, but hopefully, it's nothing too long," Crombeen said. "I'll be back here hopefully in a couple days. ... I don't think (tonight) is a go. It's kind of day-to-day. Nothing serious."

In case Crombeen and Steen both can't play in Chicago, Payne put together a line of Jay McClement centering tough guys Cam Janssen and D.J. King.

"We've talked about a lot of different scenarios," Payne said. "Those are two guys that bring a physical element and we expect this to be that type of game. At this point, it gives us options, but we're not locked into anything."